Artist

Featured Artist

This year's Unearthed High winner Japanese Wallpaper has just released his brand new single, featuring Jesse Davidson. It follows on from outstanding collaborations with Wafia and Pepa Knight, but who else is on the 17 year-old's 'collaborator wishlist'? And what are his plans for the rest of 2014? Find out below...

The electronic world is still very, very new to me! Up until quite recently I’d been focusing on writing acoustic folky stuff, which I guess is now more of a side project. After producing ‘We Washed Texas’ for the Bon Iver Stems Project, I developed this newfound appreciation for dry beats and clicks. I couldn’t get enough of it, and I slowly started turning my acoustic songs into something more ‘glitchy’ and electronic. Everything came together really quickly after that; I’ve collaborated online with some great friends from all corners of the world, and together we’re working on my first EP.

What’s a St. South live show like?

Believe it or not I’m yet to play a live show! It’s really important to me that when I start gigging, I’m completely happy with my material and live set-up. Once my EP is complete, I’ll start wrapping my head around putting together a live show, with an electronic band and a full set list of original tracks. I think I’d get lonely up there with just my laptop!

Tell us about growing up in Denmark, WA. What are your strongest memories of that time?

Denmark has to be one of the best places to be a kid: my brother and I would spend our spare time going feral on the ‘back tracks’ of the bush, we’d take our bikes out for the day, build cubbies, and come back looking like little grubs. Music was definitely a huge part of my childhood. I remember dancing around the kitchen bench to The Pogues with my dad, and singing along to an old Tracy Chapman cassette with my Mum on the way to school. My earliest memory of seeing live music is packing a picnic and heading to Albany with my family to see the Waifs and Paul Kelly - all us kids would take off our shoes and run wild. No-one does live music like Denmark hippies.

What are some of the biggest influences on your music and why?

My biggest influences were the music my parents raised me on, because no matter where I am I’ll always feel a sense of nostalgia when I hear it, and I guess that’s one of those associations that builds your creative ‘personality’ the most. Nina Simone, Elvis Costello, The Waifs, Leonard Cohen: it’s an eclectic mix but they all inspire me for different reasons. As for my more current influences, I’m loving acts like Daughter, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Tiny Ruins, Frank Ocean, and Mama Kin, and am constantly finding new obsessions here on Unearthed. And it probably goes without saying that Justin Vernon can falsetto my socks off any day.

What’s coming up for you in 2013?

I’m working really hard to finish off my EP, which involves a couple of collaborations that I’m super excited about. But I guess my main goal is just to learn as much as I can. Rather than setting deadlines for myself, I think its important that I just take my time and enjoy the process!

Artist

Featured Artist

Who is Golden Features? All we can say is that it's an exciting new project for a Sydney producer who has just dropped an excellent debut EP, has another in the works, is about to hit the live scene and is inspired by the contrast between light and dark in art. Click below for a few more words from the man (of mystery) himself...

Tell us about your music. How did you develop your sound?My sound was developed by sitting down for countless hours and playing around. There’s no great secret or synth, just a set of guidelines that I want my music to sound like.

What’s your greatest source of inspiration for making music?I'm extremely inspired by contrast between light and dark in art. Having uplifting, bright moments that progress into dark moody follow ups. I'm really inspired by artists like David Choe and Greg Simkins who manage to walk the line between the two in their own unique ways.

What can punters expect from a Golden Features live show?The shows are going to be a lot of my own music, remixes and edits.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given and who was it from?Best piece of advice I ever got was from Emoh Instead, he suggested that I listen to songs front to back, not just skip through. You can miss out on a lot of great music having that "skip to the drop" approach.

What Australian track would you play to cheer up someone who was crying?I would play them tapes of my manager singing Bardot - 'Poison'.

What Australian track would you play to someone to make them cry?Frenzal Rhomb - 'All You Friends'.

You’re the DJ at a party. The dance floor is pumping. What Australian track do you put on next?Aston Shuffles remix of 'Goodbye Future' is a heater

What was the last local gig you went to? How was it?Last show I went to was one of the Nina Las Vegas shows, it was brilliant. Tkay Maidza was amazing.

Tell us about the bands or people in the Sydney music community that inspire you.What So Not have been really inspiring. They've made forward thinking club music that’s completely unique to them. Music that works in clubs and on iPods.

What are your plans for Golden Features in 2014?2014 should be interesting.. A couple of remixes in the works, definitely another EP which will be substantially bigger than the first and a bit of touring in the latter half of the year. Exciting stuff!